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Design Studio Focus: The ‘Heart and Soul’ of the business – A Few words from our Studio Manager, Natalie Hartwell.

Working in a busy design studio is both demanding and exciting, it’s great to see new development being worked on by all of the designers; from having an initial idea and sketching them, through to the final stages of sampling before the product hits the stores and E-tailers.

The design process often starts with a brief from customers or a new concept from one of our brands, this then kick starts the gathering of inspiration before creating various mood boards. What’s so nice about this process is the fact that it allows our ‘Creative juices’ to flow.

We work on a number of brands and fabric collections so it’s always amazing to see what everyone is producing on a daily basis and to see the product evolving as time progresses. We often brainstorm new ideas as a team and keep abreast of all key trends, this is a vital part of the design process as its referred back to throughout the season.

Over the past few years the pace that design studios work at has significantly increased. With the fast-evolving technology of the design systems we work on and the new digital printing techniques that the majority of the textile industry are now using, we can turn around new products within the space of a few weeks and see it in on the high street within a matter of just a few months.

Designing homeware has become much more trend-led and we often take inspiration from fashion; this includes new techniques, colours and qualities.

Ashley Wilde Group as a company are always striving to be ahead of the competition in the marketplace and this is just one of the reasons I love working here. The brands are constantly growing and changing which makes each day different and keeps the role varied and challenging.

Our design studio is a great inspirational environment to work in and we can’t wait for everyone to see the new designs we’ve been working on for Autumn/Winter 2017!